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Dark Matter Day 2017

On and around October 31, 2017, the world will celebrate the historic hunt for the unseen—something that scientists refer to as dark matter. Local events planned by institutions and individuals around the planet will engage the public in discussions about what we know about dark matter, and about the many present and planned experiments that seek to solve its mysteries.

Grounds for Science: Dark Matter Day!

Elizabeth Boulton (LBNL) and Katelin Schutz (UCB)

Friday, October 27 – 6:30pm

Scarlet City Espresso Bar

3960 Adeline Street Emeryville, CA 94608

How do we look for evidence of “Dark Matter” in the universe? Two young researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and UC Berkeley will share stories of their search for dark matter in the heavens and deep underground.

Grounds for Science is a public science talk series organized by and featuring UC Berkeley graduate students. Enjoy some cutting-edge science at Scarlet City: a science-fiction-themed cafe that offers a small, intimate environment, home-roasted coffee, select beers and snacks, and a collection of sweet pinball machines.

Chasing a ‘Phantom’: Our Hunt for Dark Matter

Heather Gray, Zach Marshall, Dan McKinsey

Sunday, October 29 – 2:00-3:30pm

The event is free with admission to the Chabot Space & Science Center. (Chabot admission is free to members, $18 for non-member adults, $14 for youths ages 3-12, and $15 for seniors 65 and up and for students ages 13-18 or college students with college ID.)

In this special Dark Matter Day presentation, dark matter scientists will share their experiences searching for dark matter particles using underground particle accelerators and ultra-sensitive detectors. Attendees will also see the “Phantom of the Universe” planetarium show.

There is no registration for this event, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Bringing Balance to the LHC Data (Heather Gray) Dark matter wouldn’t appear at the LHC as a signal in the data — actually it’s quite the opposite! Physicists at ATLAS use the basic law of conservation of momentum to “see” when something is missing from an event. This relies on measuring each collision in the detector very precisely. Dr Gray will explain what ATLAS measures, and how we detect when something is missing.

What’s Missing in the LHC Data (Zach Marshall) The Standard Model of particle physics has held up for a half-century as the most precise theory ever derived. It’s precision could be it’s downfall: with careful study of the imbalance in events at the LHC, it might be possible to find Dark Matter! Dr Marshall will describe how some of these searches take place, and whether there might be a new Dark Matter discovery lurking around the corner.

Searching for Dark Matter Particles in a Gold Mine (Dan McKinsey) To avoid cosmic ray interference, experiments searching for dark matter interactions must be located deep underground. One new project is the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment that is taking shape at an underground research facility in South Dakota, built in the former Homestake gold mine. LUX-ZEPLIN will look for flashes of light produced by dark matter particles when they scatter in a tank filled with 10 tons of liquid xenon.

Dark Matter as Art – Film Screening and Artist & Scientist Panel

Tue, November 7, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

In celebration of Dark Matter Day, the Department of Nuclear Engineering presents The Artist Odyssey, and Director Chris Fessenden’s film “New Stellar Order,” a documentary about science artist and illustrator Melissa Walter (view the trailer).

Following the film screening, Direct Chris Fessenden, artist Melissa Walter, and Dark Matter Scientists Karl van Bibber, Ph.D., Bernard Sadoulet, Samantha Lewis, Maria Simanovskaia, and Al Kenany will have a panel discussion regarding illustrating and researching that which has not yet been visualized.

Please join us for this fun, informative and visually stunning conversation.

Searching for DarkMatter – SuperCDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search)

Talk and lab tours

with Professor Matt Pyle

Thursday Nov 9 – 6:30pm

375 Le Conte Hall University of California, Berkeley

What is dark matter? For decades, firm astronomical evidence from observations of stars and galaxies has indicated that most of the matter in the universe cannot be seen directly in telescopes. Instead, this matter must be observed indirectly through its gravitational pull on the objects that we can see. This is how the term “dark matter” was coined…But how do we search for something we can’t see? Explore these questions with a short talk and tour inside the labs of the SuperCDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) group and the Müller group laser interferometry lab.

Searching for Dark Matter Particles in a Gold Mine

with Dan McKinsey

Sunday, Nov 5 – 2:00-4:00pm

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch

2090 Kittredge St, Berkeley

The Berkeley Public Library in conjunction with the Bay Area Science Festival and the global celebration of Dark Matter Day presents Dan McKinsey, UC Physicist and the Georgia Lee Distinguished Professor of Physics. Professor McKinsey will present a lively talk with slides on the ‘search for the unseen’, an amazing experiment taking place miles underground and addressing the elusive phenomenon of dark matter in the universe.

To avoid cosmic ray interference, experiments searching for dark matter interactions must be located deep underground. One new project is the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment that is taking shape at an underground research facility in South Dakota, built in the former Homestake gold mine. LUX-ZEPLIN will look for flashes of light produced by dark matter particles when they scatter in a tank filled with 10 tons of liquid xenon.

Dan McKinsey is a leader in the field of direct searches for dark matter interactions, and serves as Co-Spokesperson of the LUX experiment. He also collaborates on the LZ experiment and is doing R&D on superfluid helium for low-mass dark matter detection.